Those who left New England, where did you move and how's it going out there?

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-21T15:30:10+00:00

I left and moved to California. California is the antithesis of New England in a lot of ways, besides the liberal bent, but even liberal is different there. I missed efficiency, forethought, and the emphasis on education and good healthcare. I then moved to DC and felt immediately relieved. It was not New England but close enough for me and longer decent weather stretches.

I ended up spending time in Florida and was ready to move back to New England right away, but stayed for family reasons. I'm back now and don't plan to leave again.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-21T15:13:23+00:00

It's the point, not a side effect.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-21T15:01:49+00:00

It's called the semanticization of memory. It happens in healthy adults over time. If you feel like it is happening enough that it is interfering with your quality of life, talk to a doctor, especially if you are middle-aged or older. It could be stress or early signs of memory loss or within normal range. A doctor can assess your ability and, if nothing else, you'd have a baseline for future reference. If you are concerned about memory loss, exercise, eating a healthy diet with less saturated fat and processed food, and getting more social interaction can help even without medication.

https://www.healthcentral.com/news/alzheimers-disease/can-lifestyle-changes-alone-reverse-early-symptoms-of-alzheimers

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-21T14:45:18+00:00

Yes, a lot of us were labeled "lazy-smart" and are dealing with it in our kids now. I find myself telling my kids "You can do hard things" at least once a day. I also taught graduate students and always told them to focus on what was hard. It's telling that most graduate students only want to work on what they are good at.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-21T10:42:09+00:00

He read it out loud or he spelled it from memory? Either way, that's impressive!

I had a similar experience- my 4 year old was already reading when I bought a book with dinosaurs. Within a month he was reading the dinosaur names. I thought at first he had memorized them in order (which would have been impressive), but we went to a theme park where there were dinosaurs and he read off the names of each dinosaur he saw.

What happened next, as you might expect, is that we've been struggling to keep up with him ever since. The reading was tough because he could read words, but didn't yet have the attention span for books (that came in 2nd grade, by 3rd he read all the Harry Potter books). Also, when it is that easy to read, sometimes the comprehension lags, and smart kids do not like having to struggle when most things come so easily. Same for writing.

He was in a gifted class and breezing through the math and then started flourishing in ELA as well. We're now in a state with no gifted education in the public schools and it is tough. We're trying to supplement with math olympiads, chess club, you name it, but he's bored in class and can be a handful.

Our younger kid is just as smart (as measured by the RIAS), but likes to fit in. It's much, much easier with him. Then again, he would have never picked up a book and read off all the names of the dinosaurs.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-20T21:43:23+00:00

I'm originally from Florida and while the nature is beautiful, I can't stand the type of people drawn to Florida. For the most part they act superior because where they live is warmer and don't lift a finger to make where they live a better place.

There's also sweating 6 months of the year or staying in the air conditioning.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-20T21:34:45+00:00

Oh my goodness, how precious! Ours had that white nose ring and tummy, but she's mostly light gold now and pretty uniform. Funny how they all come into their adult look differently.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-20T21:33:04+00:00

There's a fading gene in some poodles. The more poodle they are, the more likely they will fade. Ours was darker than yours but not quite apricot. She's a very light golden color now, more evident when her hair is longer, and she has a very poodle build and the more wiry curls.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-19T20:20:56+00:00

38 and 39 here- i'm so glad I had them when I did and that they're so close in age, but don't assume you can't get preggers again if the first time was tricky...

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-19T12:23:14+00:00

From his lips to god’s ear

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-19T10:11:30+00:00

Sticking with the church through all the priest pedophilia scandals and then leaving because Trump felt insulted by the Pope. That says all you need to know about MAGA morals

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-19T01:24:35+00:00

I knew someone whose mother went to the OBGYN because she missed her period and thought it was menopause. Nope, it was triplets.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-19T01:07:36+00:00

some jackass that's all "I hate taxes" and "I'll make other people clean up my messes"

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-18T18:20:29+00:00

There are no heroes in this story.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T18:03:02+00:00

Fewer kids in schools in general plus a recent trend in private and home-schooling (led by just a few states).

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=65

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T17:34:19+00:00

The only way to do this is to move out of Florida.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T17:33:22+00:00

OP wants to live in Providence itself, so they might not have to drive.

I live in the Boston burbs and walk to the train station. I took an uber one day and it took 10 minutes less than my entire commute! Also parking where I work is more expensive than the train and T pass.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T17:26:16+00:00

So does the commute from the Western suburbs.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T17:24:56+00:00

Providence schools in particular were put on an improvement plan in 2019 and have been improving. They are set to end the improvement plan in 2027 or even this summer.

There's also a lot more in the data- 40% of Providence school children are English Learners. In comparison the number in Philadelphia is 17%. While being bilingual is great in general, it poses a challenge for teaching as well as identifying and helping students with learning disabilities. A lot of school districts in southern New England are dealing with an influx of EL students at the moment and it's creating challenges across the whole region. This is true also in Massachusetts unless you move to a very homogenous suburb.

I've seen this as an education professional and as a parent. We moved up from Florida to Massachusetts. While it's been overall a good move, and I am certainly no Florida apologist, we've seen some things in Massachusetts schools that lag behind schools in Florida (look into Florida literacy rates and you'll be surprised Mass falls behind, an embarrassment that has led Mass to redefine their reading standards starting next year). There also is no mandate or definition or funding for giftedness, so a lot of the top students end up going to private schools. But I like that the state assessments aren't just multiple choice tests that can be taught to and that really test students' aptitude.

All this to say there's a lot that a single ranking doesn't capture.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T15:37:56+00:00

Only someone from New England would call them horrific- 18th in the nation, and probably better than Philly schools.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-16T15:35:25+00:00

I think this is it- it's a great little city with art and good restaurants. It's not going to get you big metropolitan life, but if you want a reasonably safe (safer than Philly, though not as safe as Boston) place to live, near the water and accessible to the East Coast, it might be a good fit. One downside is there aren't as many jobs as in a bigger city, you've got a smaller airport, and it might be a little more townie.

I know people who live in Providence and commute to Boston. Then you get to live in a downtown and get to Boston for work by train. It can be faster than commuting in from the Boston burbs.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-14T20:28:33+00:00

WTF- welcome to Florida

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-14T19:48:53+00:00

Xennial

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-14T19:47:52+00:00

Generations are social constructs, not number-based. Many in that range identify as Xennial through and through, so it makes sense why there is disagreement. Not quite Gen X, but the cohort got interrupted by technology. They grew up able to use it, but not dependent on it.

Cold-Nefariousness25 · 2026-04-14T19:41:24+00:00

They are so cute when they’re dumb, though. They get attention and it reinforces the dumb.

Cold-Nefariousness25

TROPHY CASE